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Monday, September 25, 2017

With plenty of scoring throughout all of the leagues this season and the past week, the pair of shutout performances from North Central's Payton Flannery against a pair of 4A opponents for a win and shootout loss stood out for the Player of the Week nod, which could have just as easily gone to Summer Yates of Chiawana. Yates' reversal of the Riverhawks' results upon her return from international duty was stark.

The defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington was stymied for a scoreless draw in their Big Sky opener by Sacramento State, but they were not alone as the Hornets did the same to regular season Big Sky champion Idaho two days later. The Eagles, though, bounced back with a big 4-0 win against Northern Arizona, which was coming off a win against the Vandals.

After a thrilling win against a ranked opponent and a drubbing of a vastly short-handed side last week, the Vandals were unable to find the form that led them to a pair of regular season titles the last two years. Idaho came up short against Northern Arizona and then suffered that stalemate with Sacramento State.

DI action around the rest of the region was highlighted by the Gonzaga women earning another victory as their hot start continues and their counterparts on the men's side earning a draw against 20th-ranked Air Force and a win on the weekend.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

In a thriller, Hanford got back on the winning track against a valiant Walla Walla side that rallied from two down before falling to the Falcons. In a battle of two of the bottom sides, the Pasco Bulldogs were unable to get their first win, falling in a tight contest against Southridge.

Fifth with a 4-6-5 record a year ago, the Columbia Basin men are enjoying a fantastic start to this season. They picked up their fifth win in as many games Saturday with a 4-2 result against North Idaho to surpass last year's win total. On the women's side Walla Walla is looking like the powerhouse of old after having not finished top two in the division since winning the title in 2013, grabbing a 2-1 win against reigning three-time champion Spokane Saturday to move to 5-0-0.

It was an odd weekend on the ladies side as there was only one first half goal in the four non-Blue Mountain matches. All four games were close matches with North Idaho's win at Columbia Basin the biggest margin of victory at two goals.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

The 3A duo of North Central and Mt Spokane are making things interesting in the Greater Spokane League for their 4A opposition this season. Following up on their 1-0 overtime surprise against Lewis & Clark on Wednesday, NC went the distance again with a 4A side before falling in a shootout to University. For the second time this week, however; a 3A side did post an upset as Mt Spokane got the better of Ferris on Friday.

Meanwhile, the return of Summer Yates is the storyline of the Mid-Columbia Conference. She scored two more for the Riverhawks as Chiawana gave Hanford its first loss of the campaign. At the other end of the table, Southridge and Kennewick played a thriller in which the Suns made an amazing comeback for the win in the final 22 minutes.

In the NEA, the Scotties are the definition of #FreemanStrong. In their return to play they posted two big shutout victories, tallying 11 goals.

Friday, September 22, 2017

It was quite a week around the region for big comeback performances and overtime victories. Players of the Week selections Lauryn Gamache and Luca Battistotti led Montana schools Rocky Mountain College and MSU-Billings to overtime victories this week. RMC rallied from two down for their win. Also registering surprising comeback victories were the Idaho Vandals and Central Washington.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Expected to be one of the contenders for the Greater Spokane League title, the Lewis & Clark Tigers suffered a setback Thursday afternoon against North Central that will force them to now be perfect the rest of the way in what is always a tight race for the league championship.

In a matchup of two title contenders, the Bullpups showed they will be a tough side to top as they put four on the board before Ferris answered in a two-goal victory. The rest of the league's slate went as expected.

Also, in a rare Wednesday GNL showdown, East Valley prevailed in a back-and-forth affair against rival West Valley. Both return to the pitch Thursday.